Imagine keeps running up the stairs to tell me what they've discovered about crop circles and all the freaky things surrounding them. He's watching national geographic. He's sooooooo excited. I realized I'm not sure how I feel about crop circles. It's one of those things that you can take or leave I guess and I'm not excited. But there's that whole ( Read more... )

The driest winter we have had yet and with some crazy, wild wind coming out of the pacific the sky opened last night, bringing with it a saturation that has lasted all night and day, defying even the most solid rocks on Pu'u O Hulu Kai mountain. There is the metallic scent of soaked rock, the smell of clean pigs from the farm up mauka and an ( Read more... )

It is no secret to those who know us that Col is not thrilled about living in Hawaii. He is an intellectual through and through. There is not much of him to embrace the innocent simplicity that is the reality of local Hawaii. When he checks up on the Customs officers and the PPQ guys at the airport, they don't get his jokes and he cannot believe ( Read more... )

I'm getting ready for a 5-day ayuervedic detox of sorts on Kauai. I get to go sans husband and child and have booked a small bungalow in the mountains that is owned by a german couple. I reserved it not knowing where it was or what it looked like-- only knowing that it was cheap (by Hawaii standards) with kama'aina rates and was close to the ( Read more... )

My long-time high school buddy in NYC emailed me the 20 year reunion date for our school back in Illinois and I politely explained that my idea of fun does not include leaving my tropical island for northern Illinois in rainy, cold October to be with a bunch of strangers who I only know from their pictures when I worked on yearbook staff. This dear ( Read more... )

Today was yard work day. I cut the grass in front and back, including my neighbors front yard. We take turns cutting grass for each other, but she's done it twice in a row. I trimmed and then cut away dead fronds on all the palms and then pulled weeds. I kept finding pieces of partially burned fireworks along the curb and in the gardens. New Year's ( Read more... )

Imagine came home from a friend's house tonight and cried. He and his friend were upstairs when the parents began fighting loudly. He came home a bit shaken from hearing it all and being frightened for the mom and his friend. The father is a good man and kind. But he does drink too much once in awhile and has been physically abusive before ( Read more... )

The Kiawe Smoke Wagon guy (say Kee-ah-vay) parks his smoke meats truck down the road from our house and Christmas is a big Kiawe smoke meats kind of time I guess because he's firing the thing up at about 6am and smoking the meat like crazy and since all our windows are open to this cool winter air (by cool we're talking upper 60's) we get a big ( Read more... )

Makana the cockateil has come to roost at our house. Our friends Sylvia and her girls Topaz, Turquoise and Jasmine are headed to the mainland this week with their daddy to spend the holidays in Baltimore of all places. And so Makana added to our family makes it even-- 3 boys and 3 girls. Col, Imagine and Walter the cat--boys. Me, Gwendolyn the mama ( Read more... )

Does anybody eat Lucky Charms anymore? I suppose it has been way over 20 years since I had a bite of Lucky Charms they're-magically-delicious cereal, but I can remember the kind of stale, sugary marshmallow charms that were in them and I can remember sitting there with the bowl full of milk, the charms floating to the top and picking out each one. ( Read more... )